Improvement in boot and shoe exhibitors



A. 0. W, GA IN. Boot an d Shoe Exhibitor.

No. 200,128. Patented Feb. 12,1878.

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Specification forming pal-tor Letters Patent No. 200,123, dated February '12, 1878; applicationfiled:

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January 17,1878. I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW O. W. CAIN, of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Boot, Shoe, and Gaiter Holder; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which Figure l is a view of devices embodying my invention in its preferred form, the dotted line indicating the position in which the shoe or boot is held thereby. Fig. 2 is a top view of the support-bar. Fig. 3 is a view of a modification or cheaper manner of constructing the devices.

Like letters refer to like parts wherever they occur.

My invention relates to that class of devices employed for exhibiting boots, shoes, gaiters, &c.; and consists in combining,.with a crosspiece or support adapted to engage within the shoe or boot, a suspension-arm or its equivalent, pivoted to the V cross-piece off its center, whereby the article, whether boot, shoe, or gaiter, will be with the sole in a horizontal or natural position, and can be readily or easily attached to or detached from a box or like receptacle.

Two methods are commonly adopted for displaying boots, shoes, gaiters, &c., in stock, the first being to permit them to hang from the box or similar receptacle by the strings which unite the pairs, and the second being to fold portions of the legs or uppers over the edge of the box, and secure them by means of the cover.

In the first instance the articles dangle in an unsightly manner, and are liable to become shop-worn by constant handling, and by being dragged over other boxes as the various receptacles are taken down and put back. The second method can only be practiced with light or thin goods, and hides a portion of the article, so that it cannot be fairly seen and inspected. Attempts have been made from time to time to provide mechanical devices to exhibit boots, shoes, &c., and to secure them to the receptacles; but almost, if not all, of the devices have been somewhat complicated and unsightly, and more or less expensive.

The object of my invention is to obtain a simple, cheap, and effective device, and one which, when in use, is hidden from view.

I will now proceed toZdescribe my invention, so that others skilled in the art to which it appertains may apply the same.

In Fig. 1 is shown the preferred construction, a being the cross-piece or support, formed of any suitable materal having the requisite I strength and stiffness, metal being usually selected. This piece a should be sufficiently long to extend from the heel to the instep of the shoe, boot, or gaiter to be exhibited, and is pivoted ofi' its center, and preferably near one end, to a suspension-piece, b. The suspension-piece b I usually form from some light metal which can be readily bent, as at c, to form a hook to take over the edge of a box or like receptacle; and I also prefer to curve the piece 1) near its point of connection to a, as shown at d, so as to carry the short arm of the lever well under the instep of the shoe or gaiter. The slot in bar a, which receives the end of I), should be sufficiently long to permit the parts a b to be folded together to insert the device into the leg of a boot, 85c.

In many instances where a cheaper article is desired than is shown in Fig. 1, a wire or string may be connected to the bar a, as shown in Fig. 3, and will perform the function of the suspension-piece b.

The devices are employed as follows: The parts a 6, being folded together, are passed into the shoe, boot, or gaiter, and the bar a arranged longitudinally therein tangentially to the sole, and with the short arm of the lever in the instep and the long in the heel. The weight of the toe or forward part of the shoe, being thus thrown on the short arm of the le ver, will cause the long arm to bind in the heel, and the suspension bar or piece b, extending up the leg of the gaiter or like article, will support it in an upright position. The devices, being entirely within the shoe, boot, or gaiter, will not be exposed to view, and. the whole may then be attached in proper position to a box or like receptacle by folding the free end of suspension bar or piece b over the edge of the born To obtain the best results in a bar having a 7 metal suspension-piece, b, the slot of supportbar a will commence a half an inch or so from the instep end or short arm, and extend back about half the length of the bar. 7

In practice some seven sizes of bar a will be found sufticient; and with gaiters the shoe may be laced or unlaced,buttoned or unbuttoned, when adjusted, as preferred, but should be laced or buttoned after adjustment and when suspended.

The advantages of my invention are simplicity, effectiveness, neatness, and cheapness.

Having thus described my invention, what ent, is'

In a device for exhibiting shoes, boots,

gaiters, 850., the combination of the cross or supporting bar and the suspension-piece,the suspension-piece being pivoted to the crossbar off its center, so as to form a long'and short arm, substantially as and for the pur pose specified, I

In testimony whereof I,-the said ANDREW O. W. CAIN, have hereunto set my hand.

ANDREW (LVV. (JAIN. Witnesses:

F. W. BITTER, J12, JOHN K. SMITH. 

